1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lancet device preferably configured to provide a single use, and in all embodiments configured to substantially shield and protect a piercing tip thereof before and after use, while providing for accurate and effective piercing engagement of a patient's skin when appropriate. Furthermore, the present lancet device does not require complex and/or difficult to manipulate cocking and is structured such that the device is rendered in-operative after a single use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lancets are commonly utilized instruments which are employed both in hospitals and other medical facilities, as well as by private individuals, such as diabetics, in order to prick or pierce a patient's skin, typically on a finger of a patient, thereby leading to the generation of a blood sample which can be collected for testing. Because of the wide spread use of such lancets, there are a variety of lancet devices which are available for utilization by patients and/or practitioners in a variety of different circumstances.
For example, a typical lancet may merely include a housing with a sharp piercing tip that is pushed into the patient's skin. More commonly, however, lancet devices, which house a piercing tip and/or a lancet, have been developed which effectively encase and fire the lancet into the patient's skin, thereby eliminating the need for the person taking the sample to actually push the lancet tip into the skin.
Within the various types of specialized lancet devices, one variety is typically configured for multiple and/or repeated uses, while another category is particularly configured for single use, after which the entire device is disposed of. Looking in particular to the single use, disposable lancet devices, such devices typically include a housing which contains and directs or drives a piercing tip into the patient's skin, and which is disposed of along with the used lancet. Naturally, so as to make such disposable devices cost effective for frequent use, such devices tend to be rather simplistic in nature providing only a sufficient mechanism for firing, and not overly complicating the design so as to minimize that cost.
While existing single use devices are generally effective for achieving the piercing of the skin required for effective operation, such single use, disposable devices typically do not incorporate a large number of safety features to ensure the safe use and disposal of the device. For example, one primary area of safety which must be addressed with all lancet devices pertains to the purposeful and/or inadvertent reuse of a contaminated lancet. Unfortunately, most currently available single use lancet devices are configured such that after a use thereof has been achieved, it is possible for a patient to re-cock the device, thereby allowing for a subsequent, inappropriate use.
As a result, it would be highly beneficial to provide a single use lancet device which is substantially compact and disposable, can be manufactured in a substantially cost effective manner, and which nevertheless is substantially safe to utilize, affirmatively preventing re-use, once contaminated.
A further drawback associated with conventionally employed single use lancet devices is that they can often be difficult and/or complicated for elderly and/or impaired individuals to manipulate in order to achieve effective use. In particular, such existing devices often require a user to perform a number of different actions, including one to cock and thereby prepare the device for use, and another to actually fire the device. As can be appreciated, those procedures, even in the simplest form, can sometimes be complex and/or difficult to effectively achieve on a small compact device by certain individuals, and especially those individuals performing self testing who necessarily only have one hand to use to manipulate the device. Indeed, to avoid these complexities, some manufactures have turned to the use of pre-cocked and ready to use devices, however, this can often result in misfires and/or pre-fires of the lancet such that a certain of percentage of the lancet devices are not usable.
As a result, it would also be beneficial to provide a lancet device, which whether single use and/or multiple use, could be very simplistic and effective to employ, not requiring a series of often complex activities to be performed in order to prepare the lancet for use and in order to actually utilize the lancet. Still, however, such a device should not compromise safety in the prevention of inadvertent use and/or re-use in exchange for the simplistic use, but rather should effectively coordinate all such beneficial characteristics. It would also be beneficial such a device could be cost effectively manufactured so as to make it available and affordable to a large variety of users, including home users.